Animal tag

ABSTRACT

an animal tag comprising: a one-piece animal tag retaining member made of molded material, having: a first part comprising a female opening connectable to a male member for coupling the animal tag to a body part of an animal; a second part configured to accommodate one or more electronical components capable of obtaining information relating to the animal to which the animal tag is coupled; an intermediate part, located between the first tag part and the second tag part, having a form of a latitudinal recess for enhancing a flexibility of the animal tag.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The invention relates to an animal tag.

BACKGROUND

Livestock monitoring solutions have become increasingly important inunderstanding the nutrition, production, management of the well-being,and overall health of individual animals in a dairy farm. Methods ofassessing behavioral activity have changed in recent years, favoringautomatic recording techniques. Traditional methods to measure behavior,such as direct observation, are labor-intensive and time-consuming.Automated recording devices have become increasingly common to measurebehavior accurately. Thus, the development of automated monitoringsystems that can continuously and accurately quantify and/or monitorreproduction, health, location and nutrition are required for efficientmanagement and control of modem and automated dairy farms.

Certain monitoring solutions use a monitoring tag that is mounted onanimal's ear. One of the main problems with monitoring tags currentlyavailable on the market is relatively short durability and poor quality.Animal tags should be designed to survive harsh weather conditions andthe wear and tear of being attached to an animal. In some cases, animaltags are transferred from one animal to another, which also requireshigh durability.

Poor tag retention affects the accuracy and availability of livestockmonitoring data and emergency response time. The costs of replacing themonitoring tags is far higher than the cost of the tags alone as thetagging process can be extremely labor intensive. The cattle first needrounding up and taking to an appropriate handling area to be safelytagged. The farmer has to inspect every animal to discover how many tagsare missing, then he also needs to spend the time ordering new tags. Forlarge beef farms, accommodating hundreds, or thousands cattle heads,inspecting all of their animals individually is an extremely arduoustask.

Therefore, there is a growing need to provide a new animal tag.

General Description

In accordance with a first aspect of the presently disclosed subjectmatter, there is provided an animal tag comprising: a one-piece animaltag retaining member made of molded material, having: a first partcomprising a female opening connectable to a male member for couplingthe animal tag to a body part of an animal; a second part configured toaccommodate one or more electronical components capable of obtaininginformation relating to the animal to which the animal tag is coupled;an intermediate part, located between the first tag part and the secondtag part, having a form of a latitudinal recess for enhancing aflexibility of the animal tag.

In some cases, the animal tag further comprising a Light Emitting Diode(LED) capable of providing light indications visible to a user when theanimal tag is attached to the animal.

In some cases, the electronical components include a Near-FieldCommunication (NFC) tag uniquely identifying the animal tag.

In some cases, the molded material is made of at least one of: polymericmaterial or polyurethane.

In some cases, the electronical components include one or more of: athree-dimensional accelerometer, a temperature sensor or a light sensor.

In some cases, the second part is molded to accommodate the electronicalcomponents, thereby sealing the molded material including theelectronical components.

In some cases, the electronical components are accommodated within acasing and wherein the second part of the molded material is molded toaccommodate the casing thereby sealing the molded material including thecasing.

In some cases, the second part of the molded material has an opening forinserting the electronical components, and wherein after insertion ofthe electronical components the second part is sealed using a coverwelded to the second part by welding.

In some cases, the electronical components are accommodated within acasing.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In order to understand the presently disclosed subject matter and to seehow it may be carried out in practice, the subject matter will now bedescribed, by way of non-limiting examples only, with reference to theaccompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a pictorial schematic view of an animal tag in an operationalposition, in accordance with the presently disclosed subject matter;

FIG. 2A is a front perspective view of an animal tag, in accordance withthe presently disclosed subject matter;

FIG. 2B is a rear perspective view of an animal tag, in accordance withthe presently disclosed subject matter;

FIG. 3A is a cross-sectional side view illustrating one example of ananimal tag, in accordance with the presently disclosed subject matter;

FIG. 3B is a cross-sectional side view illustrating another example ofan animal tag, in accordance with the presently disclosed subjectmatter,

FIG. 4A is a partial front view illustrating one example of anintermediate part of an animal tag, in accordance with the presentlydisclosed subject matter; and

FIG. 4B is a partial front view illustrating another example of anintermediate part of an animal tag, in accordance with the presentlydisclosed subject matter.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following detailed description, numerous specific details are setforth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the presentlydisclosed subject matter. However, it will be understood by thoseskilled in the art that the presently disclosed subject matter may bepracticed without these specific details. In other instances, well-knownmethods, procedures, and components have not been described in detail soas not to obscure the presently disclosed subject matter.

In the drawings and descriptions set forth, identical reference numeralsindicate those components that are common to different embodiments orconfigurations.

As used herein, the phrase “for example,” “such as”, “for instance” andvariants thereof describe non-limiting embodiments of the presentlydisclosed subject matter. Reference in the specification to “one case”,“some cases”, “other cases” or variants thereof means that a particularfeature, structure or characteristic described in connection with theembodiment(s) is included in at least one embodiment of the presentlydisclosed subject matter. Thus, the appearance of the phrase “one case”,“some cases”, “other cases” or variants thereof does not necessarilyrefer to the same embodiment(s).

It is appreciated that, unless specifically stated otherwise, certainfeatures of the presently disclosed subject matter, which are, forclarity, described in the context of separate embodiments, may also beprovided in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, variousfeatures of the presently disclosed subject matter, which are, forbrevity, described in the context of a single embodiment, may also beprovided separately or in any suitable sub-combination.

Bearing this in mind, attention is drawn to FIG. 1 , which is apictorial schematic view of an exemplary animal tag 10 in an operationalposition, in accordance with the presently disclosed subject matter. Theanimal tag 10 (also referred to herein as “tag”) comprising a one-pieceanimal tag retaining member 12 having a first part 14, a second part 16and an intermediate part 18. In the operational position, the tag may bemounted on an animal, for example on an animal's ear for identificationand/or tracking and/or monitoring purposes. For example, the tag canmonitor reproductive status of every individual heifer and cow in adairy farm based on their behavioral activities such as physicalactivity, rumination, eating and other proprietary key behaviors. Thepresently disclosed tag 10 is suited for various types of animals, andin some specific examples it can be particularly adapted for use withcattle. The tag 10 can be designed specifically to fit an animal's ear,such as a cattle's ear, and for this purpose it is of a relatively smallsize and of relatively low weight. One non-limiting example of thedimensions of the tag 10 can be 70 mm×40 mm×15 mm, and one non-limitingexample of the weight of the tag 10 can be 25 grams.

As generally illustrated the example shown in FIG. 1 , the ear of a cow30 having generally horizontally extending outer portions 32, 34 with anoval ending 36. There is an area 38 in the ear of the cow 30 that isparticularly well suited for mounting the animal tag 10 of the presentlydisclosed subject matter thereon. The area 38 is located approximatelyin the middle one-third of the ear or one third the distance between ajunction point of the ear of the cow 30 with the head of the cow and anouter end of the ear. The tagging location should be between the risesin auricular cartilage or the ribs (not shown in the figures). This area38 is characterized by a relatively flat surface that is substantiallyfree of hair (as other areas of cow's ear tend to be abundant of hairand can, for example, obscure light indicator of the tag 10 as furtherdetailed hereinbelow with respect to FIG. 3B).

In general, the one-piece animal tag retaining member 12 having an ovalperipheral configuration with substantially round end portions 40 andround edges throughout the peripheral configuration. Such configurationminimizes animal's negative experience as it does not provideinconvenience or injury during animal's ear movement while wearing thetag. Further, the rear surface of the one-piece animal tag retainingmember 12 is substantially flat so that upon mounting the tag 10 onanimal's ear it is substantially aligned therewith. The one-piece animaltag retaining member 12 is manufactured of a molded material such aspolymeric material, polyurethane or the like.

Reference is currently made to FIG. 2A, which is a front perspectiveview of an exemplary animal tag 10, in accordance with the presentlydisclosed subject matter. The first part 14 of the one-piece animal tagretaining member 12 has a female opening 20 that is configured to bemechanically connected to a male member (not shown in the figures) inorder to manually secure the tag 10 to a body part of an animal (e.g.animal's ear, as depicted in FIG. 1 ). The female opening 20 having atubular body projecting outwardly from the first part 14 of theone-piece animal tag retaining member 12 and comprising locking meanstherein configured to interlock with the male member to secure the tag10 to a body part of an animal (e.g. animal's ear, as depicted in FIG. 1). The second part 16 of the one-piece animal tag retaining member 12 isconfigured to accommodate a casing 22 wherein one or more electronicalcomponents can be disposed. The casing 22 can have a substantially ovalbody extending outwardly from the second part 16 of the one-piece animaltag retaining member 12 and having a substantially enclosed spacetherein to receive the electronical components. In some cases, thecasing 22 can be sealed with a cover 27 by means of welding, as furtherdetailed hereinbelow with respect to FIG. 3B, in other cases, the casing22 can be sealed with either screws, adhesive, and/or both and/or anyother sealing means—as known in the art.

In some cases, the casing 22 can have an opening 24 on an outer surface26 thereof for allowing light passage therethrough, or placement of alight source (e.g. a light emitting diode) extending outwardstherethrough, as further detailed hereinbelow with respect to FIG. 3B.

The electronical components are capable of obtaining informationrelating to the animal to which the animal tag 10 is coupled (e.g. foridentification and/or tracking and/or monitoring purposes).

In some cases, the electronical components may include a Near-FieldCommunication (NFC) tag configured to identify the tag 10 worn by theanimal. The NFC tag is utilized as an electronic ID card for the tag 10,having a unique tag number, that can enable providing informationrelated to the animal, such as but not limited to, its variety, source,production performance, immune status, health status, owner and otherinformation. Information can be read from the NFC tag using anappropriate reader without needing close contact with the animal. TheNFC tag is advantageous over metal or plastic ear tags for examplewherein the writing on them often disappears with time.

In some cases, the electronical components may include athree-dimensional accelerometer suited for measuring and recognizingbehavioral patterns of individual animals in a dairy farm. It canmeasure and record three-dimensional movement of the animal wearing thetag 10 (i.e. record horizontal, vertical and lateral accelerationthereof). Measured behavioral patterns may include standing, lying,ruminating, eating, normal and lame walking, lying down, and standingup. Additionally, the three-dimensional accelerometer can be utilized torecognize animal's ear postures, which may indicate the emotional stateof the animal wearing the tag 10. For example, studies showed that cowsexhibit four different ear postures (e.g. two “relaxed” ear postures andtwo “alert” postures) wherein each posture is indicative of positive ornegative emotion.

In some cases, the electronical components may include a temperaturesensor suited for measuring a body temperature of the animal wearing thetag 10 and/or ambient temperature of the animal's surroundings.

In some cases, the electronical components may include a light sensorthat can be used to measure the amount of ambient light and set the LEDpower in accordance to the light conditions—for example, when it's darkwe can reduce the LED power and by that preserve battery capacity.

The intermediate part 18 of the one-piece animal tag retaining member 12is located between the first part 14 and the second part 16 thereof andhas a form of a latitudinal recess for enhancing a flexibility of thetag 10, as further detailed hereinbelow with respect to FIGS. 4A-4B.

Reference is currently made to FIG. 3A, which is a cross-sectional sideview illustrating one example of an animal tag 10, in accordance withthe presently disclosed subject matter. In some cases, during themanufacturing process of the tag 10, the second part 16 of the one-pieceanimal tag retaining member 12 is molded around a peripheralconfiguration 30 of the casing 22, wherein one or more electronicalcomponents are disposed therein, thereby retaining the casing 22thereto. In these cases, the electronical components are accommodatedwithin the casing 22 and the second part 16 of the molded material ismolded to accommodate the casing 22 thereby sealing the molded materialincluding the casing 22.

As shown in FIG. 3A, the intermediate part 18 of the one-piece animaltag retaining member 12 is an integrally molded portion thereof havingsubstantially thinner width (when looking at a cross-section side viewillustrated in FIG. 3A) with respect to the first part 14 and the secondpart 16 of the one-piece animal tag retaining member 12, i.e. having aform of a latitudinal recess in the one-piece animal tag retainingmember 12. In some cases, the latitudinal recess includes horizontaltraverse portions 40, 42 and inclined side surfaces 44, 46 as depictedin FIG. 4A. This configuration of the intermediate part 18 enhancesflexibility and durability of the one-piece animal tag retaining member12 thereby enabling high retention period of the tag 10 on the animal'sear. For example, cow has very mobile ears, whose movement apply torqueon a monitoring tag while it is attached to the cow's ear. Consequently,the tag can break or be torn out and lost. The latitudinal recess in theintermediate part 18 of the one-piece animal tag retaining member 12provides improved flexibility and durability to the tag 10 therebyenabling resiliency/withstand once torque is applied on the tag 10.

It is to be noted that in some cases, the intermediate part 18 can havea structure having different levels of thinness, such as a stepsstructure or a slope structure (i.e. the intermediate part 18 can havemore than one level of thinness).

Reference is currently made to FIG. 3B, which is a cross-sectional sideview illustrating another example of an animal tag 10, in accordancewith the presently disclosed subject matter. In some cases, during themanufacturing process of the tag 10, the second part 16 of the one-pieceanimal tag retaining member 12 is molded around a peripheralconfiguration 30 of the casing 22, wherein one or more electronicalcomponents are not disposed therein, thereby retaining the casing 22thereto. In such cases, the second part 16 of the molded material has anopening (not shown in the figures) for inserting the electronicalcomponents into casing 22, and after insertion of the electronicalcomponents the second part 16 of the one-piece animal tag retainingmember 12 is sealed, e.g. using a cover 27 welded to the second part 16of the one-piece animal tag retaining member 12, e.g. by means ofwelding, as depicted in FIG. 2B showing a rear perspective view of ananimal tag 10, in accordance with the presently disclosed subjectmatter.

In some cases, the casing 22 can further comprise a tube 35 configuredto accommodate a light source (e.g. a light emitting diode) therein. Thelight source is capable of providing light indications visible to a userwhen the animal tag 10 is attached to the animal, thereby alerting theuser for various reasons. For example, a LED light, which is visibleduring the day and night, is configured to turn on continuously or in aflashed manner when the animal wearing the tag 10 is sick or having forexample a temperature above a predetermined threshold (e.g. temperatureabove 39.7 Celsius is typical for a respiratory infection in cattle).

As shown in FIG. 3B the intermediate part 18 of the one-piece animal tagretaining member 12 is an integrally molded portion thereof havingsubstantially thinner width respect to the first part 14 and the secondpart 16 of the one-piece animal tag retaining member 12, i.e. having aform of a latitudinal recess in the one-piece animal tag retainingmember 12. In some cases, the latitudinal recess having slightly curvedhorizontal traverse portions 50, 52 and inclined side surfaces 54, 56 asdepicted in FIG. 4B. Such configuration enhances flexibility of theone-piece animal tag retaining member 12 thereby enabling high retentionperiod of the tag 10 on the animal's ear. For example, cow has verymobile ears, whose movement apply torque on a monitoring tag while it isattached to cow's ear. Consequently, the tag can be torn out and lost orbreak. The latitudinal recess in the intermediate part 18 of theone-piece animal tag retaining member 12 provides flexibility to the tag10 thereby enabling resiliency to application of torque on the tag 10.

It is to be understood that the presently disclosed subject matter isnot limited in its application to the details set forth in thedescription contained herein or illustrated in the drawings. Thepresently disclosed subject matter is capable of other embodiments andof being practiced and carried out in various ways. Hence, it is to beunderstood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are forthe purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting. Assuch, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conception uponwhich this disclosure is based may readily be utilized as a basis fordesigning other structures, methods, and systems for carrying out theseveral purposes of the present presently disclosed subject matter.

In the foregoing specification, the presently disclosed subject matterhas been described with reference to specific examples of embodiments ofthe presently disclosed subject matter. It will, however, be evidentthat various modifications and changes may be made therein withoutdeparting from the broader spirit and scope of the presently disclosedsubject matter as set forth in the appended claims.

It is to be noted that other modifications, variations and alternativesare also possible. The specifications and drawings are, accordingly, tobe regarded in an illustrative rather than in a restrictive sense.

While certain features of the presently disclosed subject matter havebeen illustrated and described herein, many modifications,substitutions, changes, and equivalents will now occur to those ofordinary skill in the art. It is, therefore, to be understood that theappended claims are intended to cover all such modifications and changesas fall within the true spirit of the presently disclosed subjectmatter.

The invention claimed is:
 1. An animal tag comprising: a one-pieceanimal tag retaining member made of molded material, having: a firstpart comprising a female opening connectable to a male member forcoupling the animal tag to a body part of an animal, wherein the femaleopening having a first axis running through a center of the femaleopening; a second part configured to accommodate one or moreelectronical components capable of obtaining information relating to theanimal to which the animal tag is coupled; an intermediate part, locatedbetween the first part and the second part, having a form of alatitudinal recess, wherein the latitudinal recess having a second axisextends along a width of the intermediate part, wherein (a) theintermediate part is an integrally molded portion of the one-pieceanimal tag retaining member, having substantially thinner width withrespect to the first part and with respect to the second part, andhaving different levels of thinness, and (b) the first axis along whichthe female opening connects to the male member is perpendicular to thesecond axis along which the latitudinal recess extends, therebyenhancing a flexibility of the animal tag.
 2. The animal tag of claim 1,further comprising a Light Emitting Diode (LED) capable of providinglight indications visible to a user when the animal tag is attached tothe animal.
 3. The animal tag of claim 1, wherein the electronicalcomponents include a Near-Field Communication (NFC) tag uniquelyidentifying the animal tag.
 4. The animal tag of claim 1, wherein themolded material is made of at least one of: polymeric material orpolyurethane.
 5. The animal tag of claim 1, wherein the electronicalcomponents include one or more of: a three-dimensional accelerometer, atemperature sensor or a light sensor.
 6. The animal tag of claim 1,wherein the second part is molded to accommodate the electronicalcomponents, thereby sealing the molded material including theelectronical components.
 7. The animal tag of claim 6, wherein theelectronical components are accommodated within a casing and wherein thesecond part of the molded material is molded to accommodate the casingthereby sealing the molded material including the casing.
 8. The animaltag of claim 1, wherein the second part of the molded material has anopening for inserting the electronical components, and wherein afterinsertion of the electronical components the second part is sealed usinga cover welded to the second part by welding.
 9. The animal tag of claim8, wherein the electronical components are accommodated within a casing.